Victoria Richard

Competitive & Market Intel | Corporate Strategist

Summary

Think of me as a business detective. My graduate work in human communication along with my MBA provides me with a unique human-centered lens through which I assess and address business challenges.

Driven early in my career by qualitative research (interviewing, ethnography) and research program management, I found my niche in intelligence and strategy. I am driven by my passion to make intelligence gathering and impact a part of a company culture and planning, rather than a cog in the machine.

Primary and secondary research combined with storytelling allows me to paint the picture of the market and business landscape while providing actionable, strategic recommendations to organizational stakeholders of all levels. I'm known for looking at things sideways, turning ideas on their heads to figure out a new perspective, and for delivering intelligence with precision and a dash of wit.

Work History

June 2016Current

Manager, Competitive Intelligence

I was recruited into the Knowledge Solutions department to develop, implement, market and manage a firm-wide CI program in line with the firm's strategic initiatives. Thus far, my work has included:

Developing key relationships with shareholders (partners) to assess and address their client needs

Providing in-depth primary and secondary qualitative research on potential and existing clients, identifying potential ways to expand our business with them, and helping clients assess their own business needs

Working with intelligence vendors such as Lex Machina and Manzama to fully implement and utilize their product's functionality within the firm

October 2015Current

Consultant

Independent Consultant

Available for project-based intelligence work, including:

CI/MI Process consulting, needs assessment and enablement

Corporate and M&A Strategy

Authorship on intelligence work and leadership

Previous clients include various technology start-ups in various stages of funding.

Sep 2014Mar 2016

Senior Manager, Market & Competitive Intelligence

As the sole provider of market and competitive intelligence for the company, I built a function that provided everything from sales enablement to corporate strategy, and everything in between. I conducted ongoing primary and secondary research of our competitive landscape (mostly qualitative, some minor quantitative using Excel and Tableau). A sampling of my achievements and responsibilities:

Instated and authored a weekly MCI newsletter to provide timely market and competitor insights to roughly half the company

Led competitive initiatives for sales, including the building of battles cards and other collateral

Assisted with M&A activities, including market and target research

Provided all market and competitor analysis, and facilitation for 2016 strategic planning

Created the business continuity market framework which drove the company's strategy through 2015-2016

Oct 2013Sep 2014

Senior CI Analyst (Communications Lead)

I acted as the voice of Competitive Intelligence, aiding in the dissemination and collection of information to aid sales, marketing, and strategy via:

Creation, implementation and/or management of communications that reached out to the entire 65K employee base, including authorship of an internal monthly newsletter with an opt-in readership of ~14,000 employees.

Providing support for an internal Wiki (and its analytics platform), with a user base of 8400+ employees, research support, social community outreach and social listening across various mediums, and other ad-hoc services (editing, collateral building, etc.).

Involvement in strategic planning as a CI representative to corporate consulting, and participation in ad-hoc projects such as new hire sales training and research requests.

Education

Dec 2013

Master of Business Administration & Certificate in Competitive Intelligence

Reconverge.net

2015

Boston-Area Market, Competitive & Business Intelligence Group

Organized and led a local community of intelligence and insights professionals in the Boston area. Took the group from an ad-hoc informal gathering and transitioned it to a formal Insight Circle (above).